§10.6 Office of Dietary Supplements

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Publication year: 2022

§10.6 Office of Dietary Supplements

Established under NIH by DSHEA,⁹ the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) had as its purposes:

(1) to explore more fully the potential role of dietary supplements as a significant part of the efforts of the United States to improve health care; and
(2) to promote the scientific study of the benefits of dietary supplements in maintaining health and preventing chronic disease and other health-related conditions."¹⁰

In accomplishing its purpose, the Office is to conduct research at the NIH relating to the ability of dietary supplements to limit or reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, birth defects, osteoporosis, cataracts, or prostatism, to collect research data, including scientific data, relating to dietary supplements from foreign sources and the Office of Alternative Medicine, and to serve as adviser to the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of Health and provide advice to the Director of NIH, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.¹¹ ODS was also responsible for compiling a database of scientific research on dietary supplements and individual nutrients.¹²

ODS has several program areas, including:

• Evidence-based reviews of efficacy and safety of dietary supplements;
• Research centers focused on botanicals;
• Databases of dietary supplement ingredients; and
• Production of Fact Sheets.¹³

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Notes:

^[9] 108 Stat. L. at 4334. §13.

^[10] Id.

^[11] Id. at (b)(3)(A)-(D).

^[12] Id.

^[13] "About ODS" < https://ods.od.nih.gov/About/AboutODS.aspx > (visited Oct. 14, 2021).